Alex Dupuis: A Weight Loss Surgery Success Story
A ParentGuide® Web Exclusive

She’s bright, bubbly and very mature for her age, and Alex Dupuis is about to return to school a new young woman. “I’ve lost 93 pounds,” she says proudly. The 16-year-old underwent gastric bypass surgery last March and has lost nearly one third of her entire body weight. Now at 222 pounds, the 5’3” teen plans to lose another 60-70 pounds to bring her weight around 150 or 160. “This is huge,” she gushes.

Unlike many obese teenagers, Alex has always had good friends and a healthy social life. But with the added weight, she felt herself wanting to stay home more and not go out of the house because she would get winded and not “have the energy to do things with her friends. “I just didn’t enjoy things that other people enjoyed,” she admits. When Alex was diagnosed as borderline sleep apnea, diabetes and hypertension, she emerged as a candidate for weight loss surgery.

But for Alex, the decision to have weight loss surgery was more personal. “Everyone needs to be themselves. I was a complete person on the inside, but my outside didn’t feel like my inside,” says the positive teen who was emotionally, physically and mentally prepared for surgery when she learned her insurance company refused to cover because of her age at the time (15). “I ended up having a year to prepare,” she adds, a year of uncertainty that led to depression and frustration. Then, one day, she got the call. And Alex was off to the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital for bariatric surgery.

Although Alex’s surgery went well, she didn’t have an easy time afterward. The teen lived off of protein shakes for a couple weeks and then graduated to protein shakes, yogurt and chicken—not exactly an appetizing diet. She also experienced a common complication that required two additional surgeries to correct. Alex developed “strictures”—a narrowing of a section of the intestine that’s often caused by ulcers or scars. It was a rough time for her, but she kept on going.

Today, Alex credits her weight loss team with saving her life, and although she’s about to enter this school year looking and feeling better than ever before, she remains very grounded and wise beyond her years. “This is just one part of the journey.” Hopefully a very long journey!

To read more about weight loss surgery and teens, healthy eating and living, pick up the SEP/OCT 2006 issue of ParentGuide®.